Classic European Touring

Today was a classic touring day in Florence. Got up, had breakfast, made a schedule, powered through it, small laundry, nap, then dinner. Furthermore, today's pictures are only the edges of the story, because the majority of the day, we were in places where pictures were not allowed.

Cathie and I were in Florence 20 years ago. I noticed then, that when were close to the train station, Cathie would start to use the St. Maria Nouvella cathedral as a landmark. From the train side it is an old, non-descript church.


The other side is beautiful cathedral.


It is a very nice church inside. One of the alcoves was fully designed by Fillipo Lippi. He did everything; the frescoes, the stained glass window and a painting. Cathie asked me if there was anything of significance in this church and I mentioned Lippi. At that point, Cathie said, "No, I meant famous." I went into annoying husband mode and said, "Hey Madeleine, is Lippi significant?" Her reply, "Yeah, the name's familiar, we studied him." And I got to gloat.

We wandered narrow, side streets to get to the Uffizi. I love this part of Florence. It is quiet, away from the crowds and a great way to stay out of the sun.


We bought reserved Uffizi tickets so we didn't have to stand in line. We had 20 minutes to kill, so I sat in this covered (I'm guessing here) portico with Alexandra and Madeleine. They have signs posted saying no food or drinks and two guys with vests that say Ambienzale Vigilanze, ambience vigilantes.


Alexandra sits down next to me with a half drank Coke. I tell her not to drink it. She says okay. Five minutes later, I have one of the ambience police standing there telling her not to drink it. I take it away from her and put it in the backpack.

We get into the Uffizi. It is the main classic art museum in Florence, similar to the Louvre in Paris, but not as big. You can walk the entire museum in an hour and a half and linger appropriately at the important pieces. If you linger too early, it takes a long time.

Madeleine is lingering over the pre renaissance altar screens in the first two rooms, while Cathie and Alexandra appear to be hurrying to the Botticelli rooms. It turns out, they missed a turn, missed the rooms and had to back track.

One of Cathie's favorite paintings is "The Birth of Venus". This is Cathie's third trip to Florence, and it is the first time it is on display.


We eventually catch up to them, then immediately fall behind. It is hot and crowded. We see the three da Vinci's


The Michelangelo, where I try to explain to Alexandra why it was scandalous to not have Jesus in Mary's lap and why it was important, no luck there.


Here is our one photo inside the Uffizi. We were an hour in and Alexandra couldn't decide if she wanted to hurry up and leave or sit because her feet hurt.


We saw the three Rembrandts, found the Caravaggio and almost sprinted through the Vasara exhibit. Uffizi, checked off the list.


Cathie found a cafe for lunch that we thought was air conditioned. It only felt that way because it wasn't as hot as it was outside. Next, on the list was the Ponte Vecchio.


As always, it is hot, crowded, and full of people window shopping jewelry most of them can't afford.


Hot, tired and feet really hurting, Cathie promises the girlies a taxi ride back to the hotel when we finish San Croce. It is my favorite church in Florence, with the tombs/monuments of Galileo, Michelangelo and Dante.


The list is done. We catch a taxi back and I sit in front again trying to figure out where these guys learned to drive. I'm sure it was a racing school. To get to our hotel, he made a right turn across three lanes of traffic in front of the train station and no one honked at him.

I did sink laundry in the hotel. My Outdoor Research t-shirts are amazing. I will like them on Facebook shortly.

We went out to dinner. Our waitress started off in Italian, then flipped into English when we struggled. As she walked away, there was something familiar about her accent and I told Cathie, "She's not from here." It turns out, she's from Bainbridge. She went to school at Whitman, did her junior year in Florence, then came back when she graduated. She is taking a year off while she figures out what is next.

I had the tortellacci (large tortellini) in ragu, followed by a simple grilled sausage. They were both delicious. Alexandra finally got her steak, which was also very good. For dessert, I had vin santo with biscotti again. For those of you who come over for dinner, is will soon be a staple at my house.

Hotel, bed, done.

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Location:Florence, Italy